Selfmade Eyewear: Handcrafted Sunglasses Without The Premium Price Tag

There are certain accessories and products that the vast majority of people only associate with summer. But this is detrimental to both style and wellbeing. SPF inevitably falls into this camp despite it being a year-round essential. The other one that people tend to needlessly pack away as August moves to September is sunglasses.

In the UK we often link sunglasses with temperature rather than light conditions. Wearing your shades in autumn and winter is considered taboo; frowned upon for being too showy, bordering on pretentious. But it’s total nonsense. The bottom line is, you should be wearing shades year round to protect your eyes from harmful UV rays and drying out.

And if you’re going to be wearing something that often then they need to be stylish, timeless and built to last. Step forward, Selfmade Eyewear.

Iconic Styles & Premium Materials

Selfmade Eyewear is a brand rooted in iconic styles, the best materials and a yearning to create beautiful handcrafted sunglasses. With a direct-to-customer model that does away with inflated bricks-and-mortar pricing and the needless prestige price tags of so-called designer labels, Selfmade Eyewear are a solid bet for your next pair of shades.

Its frames are made at a small, family-owned factory in Athens, Greece, which was handpicked for its passionate approach to manufacturing and product. It’s this meeting of craftsmanship and design that sets the brand apart.

A pair of Selfmade sunglasses comes from a place of appreciation of iconic styles; what materials are proven when it comes to making frames, what accents and little details separate the best pairs from the pack. Its own designers cut their teeth at the likes of Tom Ford, Oakley and Serengeti, bringing with them years of experience and that inside knowledge of what works, and what doesn’t.

A Build Quality Of Note

Great design counts for nothing if the product fails after a couple of wears. But rest assured, these sunglasses are built to last.

It all starts with the lenses – CR39 lenses to be exact – which are handpicked for their lightweight clarity, durability and scratch resistance with 100% UVA and UVB protection. Meanwhile, frames are cut from high-density Italian acetate from a sixth-generation manufacturer.

Even the hinges have been fine-tuned for longevity with a robust five-joint hinge with coated screws. 24k gold-plated detailing finishes off a pair of sunglasses that hark back to a time when if you bought something, you expected to pass it on to your kids. Timeless style, timeless substance.

A Multitude Of Frame Styles

Styles are inspired by the inspirational and influential. The Graham Bell II is a solid top-bar bridge frame that provides a robust low-profile sunglasses option. Available in rich black as well as walnut and brick split for a more textured and colour-orientated frame, the top bridge design makes for an extremely comfortable fit on the bridge of the nose. It’s bold yet minimal, with polarised lenses an option too.

Edison II is a real standout. No brownie points for guessing who the namesake is. With matte teal and russet tortoise frame colour options it’s a true design all rounder and like all of the brand’s shades, is a proudly unisex design. Sharp temple accents combine with softer lines and lenses for a design that is able to combine the modern and classic seamlessly. As Edison said himself: “There is no substitute for hard work.”

Completing our pick of the range is the Carnegie II (photographed). A classic lens shape offers vintage flair with the temples eloquently complementing the overall polished appearance. Yellow tortoise and the playful scotch colour ways allow for a pop of colour and texture in what is a truly timeless pair of sunglasses.

Modern Classics

Selfmade Eyewear know how to do the classics but that doesn’t mean the brand is stuck in the past – whether it’s the eschewing of bricks and mortar for a modern direct to door approach or its ingenious virtual ‘try on’ technology.

If you’re looking for a premium pair of sunglasses for wearing all year round, Selfmade Eyewear needs to be on your radar.

Visit selfmade.by to learn more and to buy. Free shipping worldwide.

Original photography by Chris Beastall for Ape to Gentleman